TEHRAN -- Iranian Army Deputy Commander Brigadier General Alireza Sheikh says Washington failed to achieve its strategic objectives in the recent 40-day war, while former IAEA chief and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei has warned that any further American strike would be an act of “madness,” bringing greater violence and destruction to West Asia.
Speaking at the 25th edition of the Sacred Defense Studies Conference at Shahid Sattari University of Aeronautical Science and Technology, Sheikh said the most significant setback for Washington was not merely the military losses or material damage it sustained, but the erosion of the image of invincibility it had built through decades of military spending and global power projection.
He said that the war demonstrated the limits of conventional military superiority, stressing that possessing an extensive network of overseas military bases and advanced weapons does not necessarily translate into the ability to impose political demands on an independent country.
Sheikh identified three major elements in Iran’s strategic assessment of the conflict: the failure of the United States to achieve its political objectives, the imposition of asymmetric costs on the adversary, and the use of the Strait of Hormuz as a significant geopolitical and geoeconomic lever.
He also cited figures concerning the military and financial costs of the confrontation, stating that 17 U.S. military bases were damaged, 65 percent of American Patriot interceptor missiles were expended, and the Pentagon incurred more than $47 billion in direct war-related expenses.